


Together

by Desiree_Harding



Series: soulmate AUs [2]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Soulmates, Series of Oneshots, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, basically a little epilogue/installations in Lams relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 02:22:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9153304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Desiree_Harding/pseuds/Desiree_Harding
Summary: Companion to my other fic,Zeros, the college soulmate au featuring the hamfam. A series of oneshots focusing on moments in John and Alexander's ongoing relationship after the end of Zeros, along with general shenanigans.You know the drill. This is one of those that you can maybe read without reading the first fic, but it will be much more enjoyable if you visit Zeros first. That said, I hope you enjoy some soulmate oneshots and gratuitous fluff!





	

**Author's Note:**

> Alex is an attentive boyfriend. John doesn't quite know what to do about it.
> 
> Hello! Welcome to chapter one! I hope you enjoy this little oneshot, and I hope I can grow this into a little collection as time goes by!  
> This first one is fluffy. So fluffy. Bring a magnifying glass to find the angst, because you may just miss it if you don't ;)

To say that John’s boyfriend (and he still sometimes can hardly believe that word applies to him, _boyfriend_ holy _shit_ ) was a hard worker would be an understatement. Alexander Hamilton was, in every sense of the word, non-stop. The whole time John had known him, Alex was working. He was always working. Driven and busy to the point of forgetting to eat and hardly getting any sleep, worrying his friends almost constantly.

So John really could not be blamed for not knowing what to do with the heaping armful of Alexander Hamilton that had suddenly been dumped upon him.

Not to get him wrong, he absolutely adored Alexander. He lit up every time he saw him. He just wasn’t used to Alex being so… present.

And he _was_ present. John’s life was suddenly overflowing with Alexander. Alex meeting him outside his classes with a smile and a kiss. Alex meeting him for lunch, so busy talking animatedly across the table he forgets to eat. Alex holding _his_ hand, not Eliza’s, as they walk down the sidewalks of campus. Alex cuddling up to John on his bed, tucking his head into the crook of John’s shoulder, his favorite spot, and John overwhelmed by the smell of Alex’s shampoo and Alex’s deodorant and Alex’s cologne and _Alex_.

John felt like Alex was in _his_ orbit, and it was new and strange and wonderful and he _loved_ it.

Maybe that’s why it took him a while to really step back and take a look at the change.

He first noticed it a few weeks after their confrontation/confession/make out session or whatever they were going to call that night, and Alex was leaning against the wall outside of John’s anatomy class. Which isn’t unusual these days, he just thought Alex would have been… busy.

“Hey,” John said, walking up to his boyfriend with a smile slowly spreading across his face.

“Hey yourself,” Alex replied, and leaned up to plant a small kiss on John’s lips. It took more effort than it should have for John not to escalate that kiss into something a little too passionate for the hallway outside of his anatomy lecture hall.

“Thought you’d be at the library today,” he murmured instead, running a hand through his boyfriend’s soft hair. Alex just looked at him, puzzled.

“Why?” he asked.

“Don’t you have a test tomorrow…?” John said, a tad unsure. It wasn’t like Alex to be this calm before an exam. Usually he would be holed up in a study carrell or in the dorm, a huge coffee or red bull beside him and headphones on and notebooks and papers strewn around him. This was unusual.

Alex seemed to notice too, because he startled a bit before answering. “Oh,” he said, letting out a little half-laugh, “yeah. But it’s okay, I’ve already studied enough for it.”

It wasn’t like him, it really wasn’t, but John just told himself that maybe it was good that Alex was lightening up a little bit, and he didn’t want to complain about Alex not shutting himself away for a day and a half before a test and not bothering to eat or sleep enough, so he just let it go. “Okay,” he said, and took Alex’s hand and smiled. “Let’s go back to the dorm?”

“Yeah,” Alex said, and John thought that maybe they were just getting used to each other, they were just getting used to the relationship, that’s all it was.

 

*~*~*~*~*

 

And John knew he shouldn’t be complaining, he wasn’t complaining, really just _observing_ , but Alex was spending a _lot_ more time with John then he had before they got together. Which was ridiculously obvious conclusion to come to, laughable really. And that was exactly what Lafayette did when John told them about it. Laugh.

“ _Jean_ you’re _dating_ ,” Laf chuckled, “What did you expect?”

“It’s not just that, Laf,” John insisted. “he’s spending more time with me now than he was with _anyone_ before we were dating.”

Laf just laughed again, “oui,” they said slowly, like they were explaining to a child, “and you’re _dating_ , _Jean_. You’re soulmates. Of course he’s going to spend time with you.”

“I know, I know,” he said urgently, “but you know how much he usually studies, His schedule is packed full, and somehow he’s spending all his time with me. I just… when is he doing the rest of it?”

Laf rolled their eyes, patted John on the shoulder. “My _Jean_ , you are being paranoid,” they said, shaking their head kindly, “he’s _Alex_. Who knows how he does any of it? Besides,” they said, leaning back, “you aren’t _unhappy_ that our _Alexandre_ has decided to finally take a break, are you?”

And they certainly did have a point there.

 

*~*~*~*~*

 

And so John tried not to let it worry him, tried to relax and let Alex do his thing and thought that maybe Laf had been right, maybe Alex had some way to just magic the work done.

 _There are only 24 hours in a day, John, that time has to go somewhere_.

But as time went by it felt like more and more of Alex’s hours were going to John, not the piles of work that Alex almost certainly had.

 _You’re not his keeper, John, don’t babysit your boyfriend_.

And then it was April, and with April came finals. Final papers and final projects and final exams and marathon group study sessions and google docs. And John couldn’t say he wasn’t a little relieved when he left class one day and Alex wasn’t waiting, instead was sitting criss-cross on his bed when John walked into the dorm, typing away on his laptop…

Which he promptly shut as soon as he noticed that John had come in.

“John!” he said, and John would say it sounded bright but something about the cadence was a little off, “I didn’t realize you were out of class, I must have lost track of the time!”

John shook his head, trying not to show his worry. “It’s fine, Alex,” he said with a light-hearted smile, desperately trying to show his boyfriend that it was okay, “I’m a big kid, I can walk back from class by myself.” It was very clearly a joke, but Alex just frowned at him.

“Let me make it up to you,” he said, shoving his laptop aside and coming to perch on John’s bed, pushing his face into John’s neck and leaving little kisses along it. A few weeks ago, and a move like that would have had John _purring_. Now, it just made him a little uneasy.

“Alex,” he said, hearing an indistinguishable murmur from around his shoulder, “Alex, stop.”

Alex was off him in a second, and looking at his boyfriend’s wide, sad eyes it occurred to him that maybe he’d done something wrong.

And Alex whispered, “John?” all soft and confused and John didn’t like the look on his at _all_ , and he moved closer to Alex and laced their fingers together, both his hands with both of Alex’s, and took a deep breath.

“Sorry,” he said quickly, “sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, I just want to _talk_ to you.” But Alex still looked hurt, and wouldn’t meet John’s eyes now. “Alex,” he pleaded, “I promise it’s nothing bad, baby, I just need to talk to you, and I can’t _do_ that if you’re kissing me.” He squeezed his boyfriend’s hands, and said playfully, “In case you haven’t noticed, I get a little distracted when you’re kissing me.”

Alex relaxed a little at that, even though his little laugh still sounded nervous. “What did you need to say?” he asked quietly, squeezing John’s hands back.

And suddenly John had no idea how to breach the topic. _Alex I love you but you’re paying way too much attention to me. Alex I have absolutely no trust that you can handle yourself and I’m trying to micromanage your time; that ok, baby?_

“Umm…” he started slowly, feeling his cheeks get hot and absolutely not looking at his boyfriend’s face. “I…” _spit it out, John_ , “you didn’t have to stop what you were doing when I walked in just now,” he said awkwardly.

Alex honest to god tilted his head at that, looking at John like he was a silly child who wasn’t making any sense, a sort of _that’s it?_ expression and John just felt more embarrassed.

“And…” he added, softer, “you don’t have to come pick me up after every class, either.”

Alex flinched away at that and took his hands from John’s and the expression on his face went from lovingly confused to hurt and shocked and he said, “do you not want me to?” like he was scared of the answer.

“ _No_ ,” John said emphatically, and Alex’s eyes got even wider and John saw the light in them go out and Alex shut down before he realized what was wrong with what he said, and he surged forward and grabbed hold of his boyfriend’s hand. “ _No,_ fuck Alex, I – that’s not what I meant, I _love_ you, I don’t not want you, I love it when you come pick me up from class and when you bring me coffee and all of that I’m not – you’re amazing, Alex, I’m not breaking up with you or anything, I promise, just,” and now Alex was looking at him with a mix of _you’re crazy_ and something nervous and John took a breath and shook his head. “I’m not any good at this,” he muttered ruefully.

But his boyfriend just scooted closer and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear before lacing both their hands back together, and after a quiet moment between the two of them, he spoke.

“Neither of us are very good at this, looking at our track record,” he said, softly. “We kind of suck at the whole communication thing, really.” John let out a little shaky laugh as Alex leaned in to press their foreheads together, one hand snaking up to rest on the back of John’s neck. “I want to be good at it,” he whispered, “so we’re going to sit like this, and you’re going to say what you wanted to say, and even if it’s awkward or you have to try thirty times before you get it right, I’m going to listen to you, and I’m not going to freak out, okay?”

John felt like he could cry. Alex was so good and so smart and so sweet, and… and John couldn’t believe how lucky he was.

“Okay,” he agreed, a little shaky, placing his hands on Alex’s waist lightly, “just… just give me a second.”

“Okay,” Alex murmured. And they sat in silence, breathing in the same space and John feeling every contact between them like an electric spark.

“Okay,” he said again, after a minute, “okay, I’m good, can you maybe… scoot back a bit?”

“Of course,” Alex said, pulling away just a little and going back to their familiar position, facing each other, hands intertwined. “What did you want to tell me?”

“I’m worried about you, I guess,” John started out, looking at their hands rather than Alex’s eyes. “I… I love the attention you give me. I love the lunches and Netflix cuddles and all of that, the past few weeks have been incredible, really.” Alex squeezed his hands and John glanced up to see a smile on his boyfriend’s face.

“But,” he said, keeping his eyes fixed on Alex’s, “you were always so busy before we got together, you had so much work you were always doing, and I’m happy that you’re taking breaks now, for your sake, not just because those breaks are usually spent with me.” Alex, looking very much like he wanted to interject with something, nodded.

“I guess I just worry that maybe I’m pulling you away from your responsibilities too much,” John finished, feeling silly and small under his boyfriend’s rational gaze. “I worry that maybe all the time you’re spending with me is taking away from school, and it’s not that I don’t trust you,” he added, hurried, sincere, “I just…” quiet as Alex waited for him to finish. “I worry.”

It was quiet for a long while after that, John blushing furiously and staring at their clasped hands and absolutely _not_ looking at his soulmate’s face.

And then a hand on his cheek, and John was being pulled in for a sweet, lingering kiss, and everything in him seemed to melt a little and his shoulders slumped and he felt _relieved_.

They broke away, but Alex kept them close, resting his head carefully on John’s shoulder, and John breathed shakily and wrapped his arms around his soulmate’s slight frame. Not as slight as it had been at the beginning of the year, when Alex wasn’t used to frankly absurd freshman meal plans, but slight all the same.

“Thank you for caring about me,” he felt as much as heard Alex say quietly. “Thank you for noticing me. It’s been a long time since somebody’s really cared about me like that, enough to learn all my habits and worry about things being wrong, so just… thank you.”

John whispered a you’re welcome into Alex’s hair, and didn’t know where on Earth Alex was going with this.

“I guess,” Alex said, “I guess I was kind of…” he paused, “overcompensating a little, because after everything we went through trying to figure out the soulmate thing, I just,” he laughed kind of nervously, and held John tightly, “I just wanted to be a really good boyfriend, after all that.”

And _oh_ , how John’s heart bloomed at hearing that, it wasn’t fair, really. He was sure that Alex could feel him melting, could feel the love oozing out of him, right through his shirt and in all the places they were touching. “You’re an amazing boyfriend, Alex,” John said, soft and wondrous, and rubbed Alex back just the way he liked when they were like this, “you’re great at this, believe me, god, I think you’re the absolute fucking best boyfriend on the planet.” Alex laughed again, a little chuckle against John’s neck.

“Thanks,” he said, and then, sober, “you’re right though. I have been stressing about my work recently. I want to give time to you, to _us_ ,” he stressed. “But there’s only so many hours in a day and –”

“I know,” John said soothingly, smoothing his hair, “I know, I’m right there with you, baby, I know.” He took a moment to collect his thoughts. “It’s great to know that you’d drop everything for me if I needed it, and I’d do the same for you.” Alex drew back to look at him again. “All that’s great in a crisis,” John said, “and if I ever need all of you like that, I’ll try and let you know, even though I suck at communication, apparently,” he said, rolling his eyes at the end in self-exasperation, and Alex laughed, brighter and less rueful than he had all night. John laughed too, and then finished, “on a normal Tuesday or whatever, I don’t mind if you have work to do. You’re my soulmate. Any time I get to spend with you is going to be the best part of my day. If that means studying at the same library table instead of cuddling over Netflix, that’s _fine with me_.”

And Alex smiled at him, the smile that John fell in love with, bright and sincere and so beautiful, and then Alex leaned in to kiss him, and that was good, too.

“So,” Alex said, pulling away, “just to clarify: if we need each other to drop everything, we can say so, but unless we do say so, we just do what can? Is that the deal?” John felt the smile stretch out across his face looking at his boyfriend, his soulmate, his beautiful _Alexander_.

“Sounds like a deal to me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the read! Leave a kudos and a comment if you feel so inclined; it would make me ever so happy!  
> If you like the writing; here I am to shamelessly plug my ongoing fic, [Poor Wayfaring Stranger](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7503399/chapters/17056104), a foster Washingtons fic where angst and fluff and family feelings abound.  
> Happy New Year, friends. May 2017 bring you health, love, and joy.  
> I am, as always,  
> Your Desiree <3


End file.
